A California high school quarterback who lost part of his leg in a serious injury received a life-changing gift recently, presented by his NFL idol, the New Orleans Saints' Drew Brees.

Alex Ruiz of Temecula, Calif., suffered an injury in October that dislocated his knee and severed an artery, cutting off blood flow to his leg for 11 hours, according to a report by KABC-TV in San Diego. In February, his leg was amputated below the knee.

Last week, Ruiz learned a secret his parents had kept for two months: The Challenged Athletes Foundation had recruited Brees to present him with a walking prosthetic leg, to be replaced with a sports prosthetic leg in the future.